An independent oversight body has launched a official investigation into the fatal shooting of 43-year-old Shakeel Smart by law enforcement officers that took place late Sunday night in the Cascade community of Trinidad. David West, director of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), confirmed the ongoing enquiry to reporters this week, noting that Smart’s death marks the ninth fatal shooting involving police personnel in the country since the start of the calendar year.
According to initial accounts from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, the incident unfolded just after 10 p.m. Sunday, when officers assigned to the Guard and Emergency Branch were conducting routine patrols along Cascade Main Road. During their patrol, the officers spotted a white Nissan AD Wagon carrying three male occupants that drew their attention. When the vehicle’s occupants noticed the police presence, the driver immediately accelerated away from the scene, triggering a high-speed pursuit that wound through local roads all the way to Hololo Mountain Road.
Police officials stated that during the cross-community chase, individuals inside the fleeing vehicle fired gunshots at the pursuing officers, prompting the officers to return fire in response. The pursuit came to a halt close to a private villa along Hololo Mountain Road, when the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed off the paved roadway. All three men exited the damaged vehicle immediately after the crash; two of the suspects managed to escape into the surrounding wooded terrain on foot, while Smart remained at the scene, having collapsed from his gunshot injuries.
Emergency medical responders transported the wounded Smart to Port of Spain General Hospital, but medical staff pronounced him dead upon his arrival at the facility. Law enforcement teams launched an immediate manhunt for the two remaining at-large suspects, but as of the latest update, no arrests have been made and the two men remain at large. A forensic post-mortem examination, scheduled to determine the exact cause and manner of Smart’s death, is set to be conducted this week at the Forensic Science Centre located in Federation Park. The PCA’s independent investigation will examine whether the officers’ use of deadly force complied with official police protocols and national law.